Sentence Completion Practice Test 4

Question 1

Despite her fear of heights, she was _______ to be so far up the mountain

dismayed

unwilling

ashamed

thrilled

alarmed

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

The occurrence of the word 'despite' shows that there is a contradiction within the sentence. A woman who has a fear for heights must normally be afraid to be far up in the mountain. But the use of the word 'despite' implies that, on the contrary, she was happy to be there. Among the choices, it is only the word thrilled' that has this meaning. So, (D) is the answer.

Question 2

Many of Eleanor-Roosevelt's harshest critics during the years she lived in the White House late _______ her compassion for all people and praised her work to _______ social justice.

reemphasized.. spread

vindicated.. dispel

overlooked.. declare

denied.. repress

acknowledged.. promote

Correct Answer: E

Explanation:

If Eleconor Roosevelt had compassion for all people, and even her critics praised her word, such work, such work would not have been intended to dispel or to repress social justice. Mere declaration of social justice will not be considered to be "word" that would invite praise from critics. So, (B ), (C) and (D) are wrong. It does not make sense to state that her former critics reemphasized her compassion for all people; they could well have belatedly acknowledged her compassion for all people. So, it is the pair of words in (E) which completes a meaningful sentence, and is the answer.

Question 3

Eric maintained the poet, perhaps the most _______ of the Romantic and thus most likely to be ruled by emotion, nevertheless may have possessed a greater capacity for _______ than his famous contemporaries.

severe.. feeling

exuberant.. enjoyment

passionate.. discipline

delicate.. exaggeration

ruminative.. observation

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The use of the word 'thus' means that the first missing word must mean the same as 'most likely to be ruled by emotion'. Among the choices for the first word, it is only passionate' which has this meaning. The uses of the conjunction 'nevertheless' implies a contradiction between the statements in the first and the second parts. So, the word 'discipline' first in well in the second blank. The sentence now means that, though the poet was the most passionate, he was also the most discipline among his contemporaries. So, (C) is the answer.

Question 4

Freedom for Hanson meant experiencing _______ previously _______; once unable to do more than peer over prison walls, he could now wander wherever he pleased.

a visibility.. unexpected

an incarceration.. unknown

an isolation.. threatening

a notoriety.. inconceivable

a mobility.. unattainable

Correct Answer: E

Explanation:

We can understand from the sentence that Hanson had been in prison earlier. If he is now able to under wherever he pleased, his previous plight must have been one in which he was not allowed to walk about, or which denied him mobility. So, the pair of phrases in (E) completes a logical sentence, and is the answer. (The use of the phrase 'once unable to do more than peer over prison walls' would qualify 'a visibility' as suitable for the first missing phrase, but its pair word 'unexpected' does not fit into the sentence logically.)

Question 5

The puzzles that physicists solve are usually those lying about in plain sight, often things so _______ that they are overlooked by all but the keenest observers.

hidden

vital

ordinary

vague

small

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The puzzles often solved by physicists are described as those 'usually lying about in plain sight'. Among the given choices, 'ordinary' is the most suitable adjective for them. So, (C) is the answer.

Question 6

The attorney general was _______ woman, and even on those _______ occasions where she did lose her temper, she quickly regined her natural imperturbability.

a trying.. rare

a peaceable.. infrequent

an informed.. memorable

a belligerent.. challenging

an inarticulate .. particular

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

If the attorney general had such a disposition that she quickly regained her natural imperturbability even when she lost her temper, she cannot be called trying, or informed, or belligerent (meaning quarrelsome) or inarticulate (meaning 'not clear in expression'). The most appropriate adjective to describe her is 'peaceable'. The use of the phrase 'even on those… occasions' implies that such occasions were not common. So, the word 'infrequent' also fits in well in the sentence, So, (B) is the answer.

Question 7

The metric system is deliberately designed to be simple arithmetically and yet capable of _______ expansion as it becomes necessary to _______ new units of measure.

confusing.. record

mathematical.. memorize

rigid.. discard

indefinite.. invent

limited.. correct

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

The use of the phrase 'and' yet implies that the first missing word must mean the opposite of the phrase 'simple arithmetically'. Among the choices for the first missing word this only the phrase 'capable of indefinite expansion' that has this meaning. Its pair word 'invent' completes a logical sentence. So, (D) is the answer.

Question 8

Carios Saura is not given to explicit statement; his films, which seem hazy because of their psychological _______.

causality

poignancy

conditioning

allusiveness

ardor

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

The phrase, "Carlos Saura is not given to explicit statement" mans that he tries to communicate his thoughts though indirect references or allusions. This obviously would puzzle those who cannot understand indirect statements. So, (D) is the answer.

Question 9

Instances of reticence in the ancient chronicler's recording of calamitous events may simply be an indication of _______ to appear critical of the pharaoh's handling of such _______ situations.

predisposition.. stressful

refusal.. promising

tendency.. catastrophic

reluctance.. adverse

aversion.. trivial

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

Calamitous events cannot be described as promising or trivial situations. So, (B) and (E) can straightway be ruled out on consideration of the choices for the second missing word. A chronicler (meaning palace historian) would not have a predisposition or a tendency to appear critical of the pharaoh's (meaning the Egyptian ruler's) actions, because he would not then have been retained as the palace historian. His reluctance to criticize the king is understandable, because pharaohs were dictators, and would not easily tolerate criticism. So, (D) is the answer.

Question 10

"Meaning" and "truth" are profound and yet _______ pms, for they seem to resist even out most determined attempts at definitive explanation.

equivocal

manageable

insignificant

unwarranted

tractable

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

If the words 'meaning' and 'truth' are not capable of definitive explanation, they cannot be described as 'manageable' or 'insignificant', or 'synonymous', or 'unwarranted'. They can best be described as 'equivocal', meaning 'having more than one meaning'. So, (A) is the answer.

Question 11

A number of American Indian nations have moved to _______ and operate their own private college in response to the perceived inadequacies of mainstream higher education:

establish

educate

restrict

foreclose

examine

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

In response to the perceived inadequacies of higher education, a country could not have educated or restricted or foreclosed or examined new private colleges. It could only have established new private colleges. So, (A) is the answer.

Question 12

In her crusade to make public servants accountable to voters, she _______ the nation's unscrupulous and self-indulgent politicians.

exposed

dramatized

accepted

foreshadowed

promoted

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

: If the nation's politicians had been unscrupulous and self-indulgent, and a woman crusader wanted to make them accountable to the voters, she would not have dramatized, or accepted, or foreshadowed or promoted them, bu7t would have exposed them. So, (A) is the answer.

Question 13

In an effort to _______ the sensations of flight during raining sessions, computer technicians electronically _______ images realistic enough to convince pilots, at least momentarily, that they are actually flying.

bunteract.. project

raggerate.. reproduce

duplicate.. erase

mulate.. compose

iminate.. devise

Correct Answer: E

Explanation:

The effort during training sessions for pilots would not be to counteract, or exaggerate, or eliminate the sensations of flight, but would be to duplicate or to simulate (meaning to create artificially) the sensations of flight. So, (C) and (D) are the only suitable choices for the first missing word. If pilots are to be convinced that they are actually flying, computers must be used not to used not to erase realistic images, but to compose them. So, (E) is the only possible answer.

Question 14

Until the nineteenth century, history was largely written by private scholars and literary amateurs and was not seen as an _______, but rather as a branch of iterator.

artifact

entity

offshoot

accomplishment

undertaking

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

The phrase, 'put rather as a branch of literature' means that 'history was not considered as an independent subject in its own right'. The only word among the choices which has the same meaning as the italicized phrase is 'entity'. So, (B) is the answer.

Question 15

Some philosophers believe that what we call reality items from our education and is, therefore, merely we _______ of our own _______.

syntheis.. innateness

antithesis.. heritage

personification.. understanding

awareness.. observation

consequence.. conditioning

Correct Answer: E

Explanation:

The clue to the correct answer lies in the phrase 'stems from'. Something that stems from something that stems from something else is best described as a consequence. Its pair word 'conditioning' lends a logical meaning to the sentence. The sentence now means that our education lends a conditioning to us, and it is this conditioning that enables us to perceive reality. So, (E) is the answer.